Re: [Callers] [Organizers] contra dance gypsy

[Jeffrey Spero via Callers]

I apologize.  But my point remains that ALMOST everyone who is debating this 
point is an outsider.

> On Oct 8, 2019, at 6:16 AM, Isaac Banner  wrote:
> 
> Hey Jeff,
> 
> Not **us** non-roma folk, thank you. My family on my mother's side were a 
> part of the culture and none of us appreciate the folks telling us not to 
> worry and that we don't need to be offended.
> 
> Isaav
> 
> On Tue, Oct 8, 2019, 8:10 AM Jeffrey Spero via Callers 
> mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>> 
> wrote:
> But Isaac… isn’t that what people on BOTH sides of the issue are doing? There 
> are VERY few Roma in the contra community, and we’ve heard from very few 
> overall on this issue.  Mostly it’s just us non-Roma folk arguing amongst 
> ourselves about what WE perceive how a majority of the Roma people feel about 
> this.  And that does apply to people who are both for and against using the 
> term “gypsy” to describe a contradance move.  Aren’t we ALL saying what is 
> right or wrong for people who are from another heritage?
> 
> And now I am bowing out of this controversy as it seems never-ending and very 
> divisive.
> 
> Jeff
> 
> 
> 
> > On Oct 8, 2019, at 5:57 AM, Isaac Banner via Callers 
> > mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>> 
> > wrote:
> > 
> > Hey John,
> > 
> > If the N word was also a move that somehow wasn't connected to the slur, 
> > you wouldn't dare argue that it's different or that you should get to call 
> > it, so drop the argument please. Just because you don't think I should be 
> > offended about the word and how it reflects on my heritage doesn't mean you 
> > get to dictate whether I actually am. I would ask you not to decide for 
> > others how they ought to experience and respect their racial identity, 
> > thanks. 
> > 
> > Isaac 
> > 
> 
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Re: [Callers] [Organizers] contra dance gypsy

[Jeffrey Spero via Callers]

But Isaac… isn’t that what people on BOTH sides of the issue are doing? There 
are VERY few Roma in the contra community, and we’ve heard from very few 
overall on this issue.  Mostly it’s just us non-Roma folk arguing amongst 
ourselves about what WE perceive how a majority of the Roma people feel about 
this.  And that does apply to people who are both for and against using the 
term “gypsy” to describe a contradance move.  Aren’t we ALL saying what is 
right or wrong for people who are from another heritage?

And now I am bowing out of this controversy as it seems never-ending and very 
divisive.

Jeff



> On Oct 8, 2019, at 5:57 AM, Isaac Banner via Callers 
>  wrote:
> 
> Hey John,
> 
> If the N word was also a move that somehow wasn't connected to the slur, you 
> wouldn't dare argue that it's different or that you should get to call it, so 
> drop the argument please. Just because you don't think I should be offended 
> about the word and how it reflects on my heritage doesn't mean you get to 
> dictate whether I actually am. I would ask you not to decide for others how 
> they ought to experience and respect their racial identity, thanks. 
> 
> Isaac 
> 

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Re: [Callers] New dance composition, star to next neighbor hey

[Jeffrey Spero via Callers]

Yeah… I know.  I’m not one who believes that EVERY dance must have a neighbor 
swing.  I think there are some incredibly fine choreographies that can happen 
without that requirement.  That said, I wouldn’t program an entire night of 
them, lest I get rode out of town on a rail!

J.


> On Jun 26, 2018, at 9:36 AM, Luke Donforth via Callers 
>  wrote:
> 
> Jeff, that's an intricate one! I don't know that I'd run that one outside of 
> a challenge session.
> 
> Fun to see what you can put together when there doesn't have to be a partner 
> & neighbor swing ;-)
> 
> On Mon, Jun 25, 2018 at 6:03 PM, Jeffrey Spero via Callers 
> mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>> 
> wrote:
> Here’s one I wrote in back in 1993 (I was ahead of my time?)
> 
> Harvesting the Hey
> Becket
> 
> A1 Left diagonal, right and left thru
>Straight across, right and left thru
> A2 Star left once around
>With the NEXT (shadow - leave partners), star right once around
> B1 With the previous (the same four as the left hand star), Hey for four 
> (ladies pass right in the center)
> B2 Partners balance and swing
> 
> Jeffrey Spero
> 
> 
>> On Jun 25, 2018, at 1:35 PM, Don Veino via Callers 
>> mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>> 
>> wrote:
>> 
>> Here's one I'm familiar with off the top of my head featuring that 
>> transition (called it at NEFFA this year):
>> 
>> Belmont Romp - Becket - Dan Pearl (var DonV)
>> A1 Circle Left 3/4x, Neighbor Swing
>> A2 Long Lines Fwd/Back (note next N)
>> Star Left 1x to Gents face out, Ladies in
>> B1 NEXT Ns Full Hey (Ladies pass LEFT in center)
>> B2 Ladies Cross, Partner Swing
>> 
>> Dan's original is "modified DI" starting with the hey and has a Circle Left 
>> in place of the Long Lines. Page 94 of Give and Take.
>> 
>> -Don
>> 
>> 
>> On Mon, Jun 25, 2018, 4:03 PM Luke Donforth via Callers 
>> mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>> 
>> wrote:
>> Hi folks, 
>> 
>> I ran this at a monthly dance, and it was well received; so I figured I'd 
>> share it around. To my knowledge it's new. Please correct me if you know of 
>> a prior. 
>> 
>> The interesting/odd bit is the transition from B2 to A1, where the ladies 
>> role comes out of a left hand star with old neighbors to start a hey by the 
>> left shoulder in the middle with new neighbors. It flows well, but is 
>> unexpected.
>> 
>> Hubert Humphrey Deserves More Than Just a Song By Tom Lehrer
>> by Luke Donforth
>> Improper, duple minor contra
>> A1
>> Ladies start full hey by the left
>> A2
>> Neighbor gyre and swing
>> B1
>> Circle Left 3/4
>> Partner Swing
>> B2
>> Ladies chain across
>> Left Hand Star 1x
>> 
>> As for the title, well, I was on a presidents and folk music kick. Writing 
>> titles is harder than writing dances...
>> 
>> Enjoy.
>> 
>> -- 
>> Luke Donforth
>> luke.donfo...@gmail.com <mailto:luke.do...@gmail.com>
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> 
> 
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> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Luke Donforth
> luke.donfo...@gmail.com <mailto:luke.do...@gmail.com>
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Re: [Callers] New dance composition, star to next neighbor hey

[Jeffrey Spero via Callers]

Here’s one I wrote in back in 1993 (I was ahead of my time?)

Harvesting the Hey
Becket

A1 Left diagonal, right and left thru
   Straight across, right and left thru
A2 Star left once around
   With the NEXT (shadow - leave partners), star right once around
B1 With the previous (the same four as the left hand star), Hey for four 
(ladies pass right in the center)
B2 Partners balance and swing

Jeffrey Spero


> On Jun 25, 2018, at 1:35 PM, Don Veino via Callers 
>  wrote:
> 
> Here's one I'm familiar with off the top of my head featuring that transition 
> (called it at NEFFA this year):
> 
> Belmont Romp - Becket - Dan Pearl (var DonV)
> A1 Circle Left 3/4x, Neighbor Swing
> A2 Long Lines Fwd/Back (note next N)
> Star Left 1x to Gents face out, Ladies in
> B1 NEXT Ns Full Hey (Ladies pass LEFT in center)
> B2 Ladies Cross, Partner Swing
> 
> Dan's original is "modified DI" starting with the hey and has a Circle Left 
> in place of the Long Lines. Page 94 of Give and Take.
> 
> -Don
> 
> 
> On Mon, Jun 25, 2018, 4:03 PM Luke Donforth via Callers 
> mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>> 
> wrote:
> Hi folks, 
> 
> I ran this at a monthly dance, and it was well received; so I figured I'd 
> share it around. To my knowledge it's new. Please correct me if you know of a 
> prior. 
> 
> The interesting/odd bit is the transition from B2 to A1, where the ladies 
> role comes out of a left hand star with old neighbors to start a hey by the 
> left shoulder in the middle with new neighbors. It flows well, but is 
> unexpected.
> 
> Hubert Humphrey Deserves More Than Just a Song By Tom Lehrer
> by Luke Donforth
> Improper, duple minor contra
> A1
> Ladies start full hey by the left
> A2
> Neighbor gyre and swing
> B1
> Circle Left 3/4
> Partner Swing
> B2
> Ladies chain across
> Left Hand Star 1x
> 
> As for the title, well, I was on a presidents and folk music kick. Writing 
> titles is harder than writing dances...
> 
> Enjoy.
> 
> -- 
> Luke Donforth
> luke.donfo...@gmail.com 
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Re: [Callers] Politically Correct?

[Jeffrey Spero via Callers]

> On Mar 28, 2018, at 8:56 AM, Maia McCormick  wrote:
> 
> While Jeffrey makes a compelling point, I want to chime in with another 
> thought: that not having these discussions is just as divisive (if not more 
> so) than having them, just in ways that are harder for some sides of the 
> community to see. While people make (very valid) claims that long discussions 
> about terminology, altering words to singing squares, etc. are alienating 
> some more established members of the community, to not have these discussions 
> is to alienate many other folks, particularly people our dance scene has done 
> less well by in the past -- young people, people of color, queer people, 
> trans people... the list goes on.

I would never suggest that these discussion not take place.  But at some point, 
the discussion must end with action either being taken - or not.  This 
particular discussion has been going on for many years, with very little new 
information, with both sides feeling more polarized, and there being no to 
little movement in the community at large.  We’re beating a dead horse.  At 
what point does this become more divisive than cohesive?  How is renewing this 
discussion by rehashing things that have been said over and over again on both 
sides of the issue being helpful more than harmful?

Call it a walk around. Call it a gypsy. Call larks/ravens. Call gents/ladies.  
Call the moves as you see fit. But let’s stop the constant arguing about it 
that has become tiresome and divisive.  Minds really aren’t being changed after 
years of rehashing the same points.

And with that, I will no longer rehash MY point!___
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Re: [Callers] Politically Correct?

[Jeffrey Spero via Callers]

He’s right… and she’s right.  How can they both be right?

Well… they ARE both right.  There is no clear cut answer on this. People who 
feel strongly on one side or the other may like to think there is a clear cut 
answer, but if one thing seems clear to me by the amount of back and forth on 
this subject it’s that there are differing valid opinions.

In the meantime, while we argue endlessly about whether to gypsy, walk-around, 
face-to-face, vis-a-vis, spiral, gyre, turn by the eyes, whimsy, kipsy, tipsy, 
shmipsy - or just avoid the move altogether, we lose why many came to contra 
dancing in the first place.  Contradances were a place where people would come 
to actually get away from all of the controversies of life. It was a place 
where people from differing stripes with differing beliefs (OK, maybe I’m being 
idealistic here - let’s not kid ourselves, it’s mostly liberal whites!) can 
come together and leave the real world issues behind and just dance and be 
friendly.  And now? These controversies have made their presence known on the 
dance floor.  And it’s not just gypsies or no gypsies.  It’s also questions of 
role identification (men/women, ladies/gents, larks/ravens, jets/rubies) and 
whether people should boycott dance weekends that gender balance.  

Please don’t misunderstand me… I have very little fight in this game.  I’m 
moving to the point where I couldn’t care less about what we call moves or 
people.  I’m just tired of the endless discussions that go nowhere except to 
continue to divide people and make the dance community cohesive.  Maybe I’ve 
become an old fart who just wishes we could have the dance community we had 
decades ago that wasn’t so fraught with divisiveness.  Or maybe there’s 
something to what I have written here.  Maybe the decline in attendance at 
dances across the country has less to do with terminology - and more to do with 
people not wanting to be a part of yet another community that is becoming 
polarized.  Do I have a solution?  Nope.  And neither does anyone else, or else 
it would have been solved by now.  So maybe we should just cool it for awhile 
and see if maybe tolerance for personal preferences might help make the 
community less contentious. Can we just get back to dancing for the pure joy of 
it?

My two cents.
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Re: [Callers] star to hey?

[Jeffrey Spero via Callers]

Ask, and ye shall receive (except… it’s not the progression)!

Harvesting the Hey (James Hutson and Jeff Spero)
Becket

A1 Left diagonal, right and left through
 Straight across, right and left through
A2 Star left once around
 With the next, star right (with shadow, NOT partner)
B1 With previous couple, hey for four (ladies pass right shoulders to start)
B2 Partners balance and swing




> On Dec 23, 2017, at 1:00 PM, Lindsey Dono via Callers 
>  wrote:
> 
> Hi Luke,
> 
> This looks like the same progression as Nathaniel Jack's Loon on the Lake. 
> With clear teaching, it's a lovely transition. I'd be thrilled to have more 
> dances with a star to hey progression.
> 
> Are You 'Most Done by Russell Owen has a different variety of star to hey 
> with the next- the hey is on the diagonal.
> 
> Lindsey
> Tacoma, WA
> 
> 
> On Friday, December 22, 2017, 6:55:29 PM PST, Luke Donforth via Callers 
>  wrote:
> 
> 
> Hello all,
> 
> I'm on the road for vacation instead of calling, which means that I don't 
> have easy access to dancers to try things with; so I'm pinging the hive mind. 
> 
> What do folks think about the transition star->hey with the next. 
> 
> For instance:
> 
> A1
> Ladies start left shoulder hey
> A2 
> Neighbor right shoulder gyre and swing
> B1 
> Circle Left 3/4
> Partner swing
> B2
> Ladies chain across
> Left hand star 1x
> 
> The ladies have their left hand in on the star, and usually I avoid a left 
> with one, left with the next transition; but I feel like the swoopy nature of 
> the hey gives it some slack. It also sets the gents up for a turn over 
> shoulder entry into the hey. 
> 
> It could be a right shoulder in the middle hey, and a balance and swing. I 
> don't have a passel of dancers to try it with. 
> 
> What are your thoughts?
> 
> Thanks, and happy solstice and return of the light to you all.
> 
> -- 
> Luke Donforth
> luke.donfo...@gmail.com 
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Re: [Callers] Role Scramblers dances with balances

[Jeffrey Spero via Callers]

I can send one of them!

The Dancing Frog
Jeffrey Spero   February 25, 2001
Duple improper
A1  Neighbor balance and swing
A2  Ladies allemande right once-and-a-half
Partners swing
B1  Long lines forward and back, partners roll away with a half sashay
Gents chain across
B2  Partners right hand balance, box the gnat
Same four, right hand star
Author's notes: The gents chain in B1 is a true role reversal, with the men 
pulling by with their right hands - my favorite kind of gents chain!
This dance was composed for a dance medley during the 2001 Fiddling Frog Dance 
Festival in Los Angeles.


> On Apr 5, 2016, at 10:42 AM, Andrea Nettleton via Callers 
>  wrote:
> 
> Why not post for all?
> Andrea
> 
> Sent from my external brain
> 
> On Apr 5, 2016, at 1:10 PM, Lindsey Dono via Callers 
> mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>> 
> wrote:
> 
>> Thanks!
>> 
>> Any chance you could send Dancing Frog, Chain the Swain, and Digital Divide 
>> (I have this one in a notebook somewhere...)? 
>> 
>> 
>> From: Yoyo Zhou mailto:yoz...@gmail.com>>
>> To: Lindsey Dono mailto:lynz...@yahoo.com>> 
>> Cc: Caller's Discussion List > >
>> Sent: Tuesday, April 5, 2016 9:59 AM
>> Subject: Re: [Callers] Role Scramblers dances with balances
>> 
>> On Mon, Apr 4, 2016 at 11:19 PM, Lindsey Dono via Callers 
>> mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>> 
>> wrote:
>> Hi Callers,
>> 
>> I'm working on a themed contra workshop called "Role Scramblers," and just 
>> realized that all of the dances I've shortlisted are very smooth. I'm 
>> looking for dances with elements for each dance role that are more typically 
>> danced by the other role (such as Jeff Spero's "Equal Opportunity," which 
>> has the ones chain). I have "Roll Away Sue" by Bob Isaacs (a gent's chain), 
>> but would love other dances with balances and waves that might fit this 
>> theme.
>> 
>> 
>> Some that I have that are more balancey (feel free to email me if you need 
>> the notes):
>> 
>> The Dancing Frog by Jeff Spero - gents do a right-hand chain
>> Chain the Swain by Becky Hill - gents do a right-hand chain
>> Coming Home from Toohollie by Janet Shepherd - ladies rollaway partners into 
>> a swing; petronella
>> The Digital Divide by Jeremy Korr - alternates gents/ladies chain and 
>> give-and-take to gents'/ladies' side; balance + square thru
>> 
>> Yoyo Zhou
>> 
>> 
>> 
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